Second Chances and Last Dances
by butterflygirly99
Summary: <html><head></head>A more in depth view of Parvati's perspective a the Yule Ball, inspired by the fairytale, Cinderella.</html>


**A/N: So my fanfiction takes you a little more in depth into Parvati's thoughts during the Yule Ball :) Enjoy!**

**Contests-**

**- QLFC- Round 11- Cinderella**

**- Hogwarts Casino 2014- Roulette- betting on number 9**

**- Harry Potter Chapter Competition- The Half Blood Prince - Write about receiving help from an unexpected place.**

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><p>The Yule Ball, a night to remember...at least that's what Parvati thought when Professor McGonagall had announced the event. Who would have known that a ball with such promise would have ended up being such a disappointment? Sitting next to her famous date, who was far too busy gawking at Cho and Hermione to dance, Parvati was feeling pretty miserable. And to top it all off, Parvati could swear it was almost midnight, when the ball would end.<p>

It was about three days until the dance, and Parvati was yet to find the perfect date. It wasn't that she hadn't been asked; in fact, within the last week three Durmstrang students, two Beauxbatons students, and one Ravenclaw, mistaking her for Padma, had asked her to the ball, but she turned them all down, waiting for the perfect date. In all truthfulness, Parvati didn't have anyone particular in mind when she imagined the perfect date; however, she knew that none of the boys who had asked her were "the one," so she politely rejected their offers and went on with life.

Shooting down boys at Parvati's rate was leaving her quite dateless, so when Harry Potter asked her to be his date as a last resort, Parvati knew she had no choice but to settle for one of Hogwart's Triwizard Champions; she figured she could do a lot worse. As the last few days leading up to the Yule Ball trickled by, Parvati was becoming more and more elated with her decision to accept Harry's dance proposal. The jealous stares and awe-inspired looks that followed her everywhere she went just added fuel to the fire already burning inside of her.

When the day finally arrived, Parvati was sure that no one could be more excited than her. She didn't really care much for being Harry's last-minute choice; however, it was made up for in all the adoration she received for being his date. Unpacking the bright pink dress robes that had been stuffed in her trunk for so long, Parvati smiled; tonight would be her perfect night. She would finally share some the spotlight with Harry Potter.

The first sign that should have alerted Parvati of the horrible night ahead was her ripped dress robes. The gorgeous pink silk that had suited her skin tone so nicely was currently in shreds. Between Hermione's brains and Lavender's seamstress spell book, the two girls were able to fix the dress in no time. In a way, they were almost her fairy godmothers...

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"You...er...look nice?" was Harry's only remark to her as she first approached him.

While it wasn't exactly the most flattering statement, Parvati would take what she could get. The loud claps that would erupt when she entered the main hall would make up for Harry's lack of compliments. Perhaps she wasn't going with Harry to the ball with the best of intentions, but it would be amazing, regardless of any of the drama going on. Parvati had made her second mistake of the evening; high expectations, more often than not, lead to heavy heartache.

"Thank you...you look nice as well..." was her only reply. While, it seemed like just a typical, awkward conversation between two teenagers of the opposite gender, both parties were eager to get inside. Harry just wanted to get the dancing over with while Parvati just wanted to show off her dress.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Patil, follow me, please," Professor McGonagall said, ushering the pair into the Great Hall, as if on cue.

The pair shared a nervous look and walked in. The immediate response could have easily overwhelmed anybody.

They walked in to screams of, "HARRY POTTER, I LOVE YOU!" and, "OH MY GOSH I WANT PARVATI'S HAIR!"

While Harry looked quite shaken, Parvati was eating it all up, even managing a wave to the crowd. For a split second, she wondered how Harry could hate all the attention. For Parvati, a girl who thrived off the admiration and respect of others, it was difficult to comprehend how cheering fans would bother anyone.

"Ready to dance?" she asked her partner, a wide smile on her face. Her cheeks were slightly flushed from all the excitement, but they were slowly regaining their normal olive color as the music began.

"No."

"Too bad. Now move your feet before I step on them," she said through gritted teeth, the smile yet to leave her face.

Neither Harry nor Parvati could compare to the gracefulness of Fleur and Roger, or the genuine joy of Cedric and Cho, but in Parvati's opinion, she made it work.

As soon as the final note of the song was played, she found herself following Harry to sit down.

"Tired?" she asked, eager for another dance, hopefully to a more upbeat song.

"I guess..."

"So, yes or no to another dance?"

"No."

Parvati rolled her eyes, although she was expecting the answer. She knew that despite the fact that people were still giving her admiring looks and "I wish" faces, and that she had gotten everything she wanted, she still wanted more.

XXXXXXX

It had been an hour; a whole entire hour and not a single dance with her date. Parvati knew she should count herself lucky because Padma had been completely ditched by Ron from the beginning, but she couldn't help but feel miserable.

Out of nowhere, a girl plopped down next to her and kicked off her heels. Her hair looked slightly messy, and a bead of sweat dripped down her forehead. It was clear she had been dancing the whole time, and she was just kicking off her shoes to get back to more dancing. It was now Parvati's turn to become the green-eyed monster.

Parvati couldn't believe it. She had gotten so caught up in finding the perfect image of a date, rather than someone who she could actually have a good time with. Although she would never admit it out loud, she had dug her own grave, and now she had to lie in it. She doubted that anyone would want to dance with her, even for one dance, so she decided to cross her fingers and hope Padma would at least have some fun.

"May I have your arm?"

Lost in her thoughts, a deep Bulgarian voice jarred her from whatever she was thinking. Looking to her side, she noticed that Padma had left, as well as Ron. Maybe her sister would get one dance after all. Then, looking over to the other side, she noticed Harry, still staring at Cho.

"Hey, Harry...actually, you know what? Nevermind," Parvati said, standing up and kicking off one of shoes. In the excitement of finally getting a willing partner, she forgot to take the other one off, but at that point she didn't care. Two shoes, one shoe, or barefoot, she would get a dance.

No, it wasn't love and it wouldn't last, but dancing the rest of the night away, with one shoe on and one shoe gone, with some guy whose name she'd never know, ended up being a lot more fun than anything anyone could imagine.

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><p><em><strong>Word Count: 1233 (without AN's)**_


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